Thank you for reading about the medical needs of a beautiful baby girl, our niece Penelope. We are Penelope’s Aunt (Yvonne Hedstrom) and Uncle (Dan Hedstrom) and are putting together this continued effort to raise money for her medical needs.

Within her first six months of life, she has had two catheterization procedures in Houston, TX to try to place stents into her pulmonary veins between her right lung and her heart. In the first procedure, the surgeon worked on entering from her heart down to the right lung. She was unsuccessful on both the smaller and the larger vein. We found out the larger vein has scar tissue causing the blockage. Neither of them has blood flow between the heart and the right lung.

After three weeks, the surgeon decided she needed to try a second procedure. The surgeon and the head surgeon both worked on the veins from the lung toward her heart. Again, the doctors were not successful. After the failed second attempt, Penelope spent 21 days in the Houston Children’s Hospital between ICU and recovery. While in the hospital, Penelope caught the Rhinovirus and had a difficult healing process. We are unsure of what caused her to have such a difficult healing process. Unfortunately, she grew a large blood clot in her leg and must have two injections per day to carefully break down the blood clot and reduce the chances of it causing more issues. The two failed surgeries have already placed Ross and Crystal into a financial bind, with a bill of approximately $146,000 because Houston Children’s Hospital was outside their medical insurance network. They are making monthly payments; however, the hospital wants higher payments between $6,000-$12,000.

Since being home, Penelope has endured multiple days of testing and follow-ups since her last surgery. During one of her follow-up appointments, the doctors found that her left pulmonary vein had narrowed faster than expected because of the higher blood flow it handles.

Our hearts ache as we share that Penelope will undergo another heart catheterization procedure at Boston Children’s Hospital on August 1st. After consulting with top children's cardiac surgeons, this was determined as the best course of action. To prepare for this challenging surgery, Penelope will have another full day of imaging on July 30th.

Her second procedure will be an open-heart surgery. The purpose of this surgery is to create a larger opening between the left narrowing vein in the left lung and the heart and fix her aorta. This surgery is expected to be on August 8th, or sooner if timing and healing permits.

Penelope’s need for these surgeries is life and death. If her left pulmonary vein closes, she loses all lung capacity. Unfortunately, Boston Children’s Hospital is also outside of their medical insurance network, and they will receive another large medical bill.

We are asking for help covering Penelope’s ongoing medical costs. We believe her life is worth the cost of the surgeries, regardless of the price tag. We also know it is not your responsibility to help us pay for her ongoing medical bills. We want you to know that the first round of donations was spent on the following: up-front medical deductibles, formula, medications, travel expenses, and ongoing medical expenses.

We are deeply grateful for the incredible generosity shown to Penelope and our family. Your support has been a lifeline during this challenging journey. It’s hard to believe we’re asking for help again, but the road ahead is steep, and Penelope desperately needs continued care. Every little bit helps. Your contribution will help us provide Penelope with the care she desperately needs.

Your outpouring of love, kindness, and generosity means the world to our family.

There is a new Facebook page specifically for Penelope where updates will be shared in conjunction with the updates to this fundraiser. Penelope Hudson Gildow's Page The page is also a place where you can get in touch with the family if you would like to donate outside of the GoFundMe program.

Thank you!

Daniel and Yvonne Hedstrom on behalf of Ross and Crystal Gildow